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Niwot High students, faculty rally behind former custodian with cancer

By Magdalena WegrzynLongmont Times-Call

Posted:
12/21/2011 08:48:10 PM MST

Updated:
09/24/2012 11:17:53 AM MDT

When former Niwot High School Custodian Andy Barela was diagnosed with stage 3 colon and rectal cancer earlier this year he was forced to leave his job. Since then, the Longmont family has fallen on hard times, both emotionally and financially. Niwot International Baccalaureate coordinator Julie Webster, along with IB students and staff raised $6,000 for the family and gift cards for each of Andy and Mary Barela's three boys. Staff, students and parents surprised the Barela family by caroling outside of their home and then presenting him with the gifts Friday evening.
(Joshua Buck/Times-Call)

Donations for Andy Barela and his family can be sent to or dropped off at Niwot High School, 8989 Niwot Road, attention of Debbie Hauck. Checks can be made out to Andy Barela. All proceeds will go directly to the family.

LONGMONT -- It's been a rough year for Andy Barela and his family.

But things may be a little easier thanks to what the Longmont man calls his "Niwot family."

On Friday evening, students and staff from Niwot High School, all decked out in Santa hats, sang Christmas carols at Barela's home in Longmont and handed the family a check for $6,000.

"You don't know how much that helps us," Barela said, choking up with emotion after the surprise. "Thank you guys. Thank you."

Barela, who worked as a custodian at Niwot High for four years, was diagnosed in March with stage 3 colon and rectal cancer. He completed eight cycles of chemotherapy and a bout of daily radiation for 30 days. A surgery on Aug. 15 removed 19 inches of his diseased colon.

After using all of his family medical leave and vacation days, Barela said he was laid off in March. He said the St. Vrain Valley School District offered him his job back -- though not a guarantee that he'd return to Niwot High -- once he's well enough to return to work, but unemployment also meant no health insurance.

Two months ago, he was approved for Medicaid and food stamps but bills have been piling up, the family said. His wife of 23 years, Mary, lost her job as a cashier at a Longmont thrift store in June, after she said she used all her time off to care for her husband. Before receiving the check, the family said they were four months behind of their rent.

"We don't know what's going to happen in January," Andy Barela said.

Cody Barela, 17, hugs his father, former Niwot High School Custodian Andy Barela, and tells him how much he loves him at their home in Longmont on Friday.
(Joshua Buck/Times-Call)

Students in Niwot High's International Baccalaureate program typically adopt low-income families through Boulder County's Family-to-Family program, said IB coordinator Julie Webster. This year, students opted to combine their efforts and help one of their own.

"These kids are stellar. They're so amazing," Webster said.

Last year, Kaitlin Soucie, 17, coordinated her class' adoption of a family -- a single mother with four children. She and her classmates raised about $500 and supplied the family with gift cards and presents for the holidays.

"I just felt so good doing it, and I had fun doing it," Soucie said. "So I wanted to do it again. ... It's close to the heart."

Starting after Thanksgiving break, the senior began to visit classrooms, collecting donations in a large popcorn tin. And though she had never met Barela, she explained his situation to each class. She also left collection jars in several classrooms and bribed a couple classes into contributing with homemade cookies.

Debbie Hauck, the community service coordinator for the school's IB program, sent a letter to parents and faculty explaining the situation. Hauck called Barela "one of the nicest guys you'd ever meet."

"You could ask him to do anything and he always had a smile on his face and he had a kind word for everyone. You don't meet kind people like that very often," she said.

The donations poured in.

"This was generosity above and beyond what we could have ever expected from students, faculty and families," Hauck said.

Right now, Barela, 46, is going though another round of chemo that likely will last through February. He hopes to return to work this summer. But in the meantime, he's grateful for the support Niwot High has shown for him, his wife and their three sons.

"This is what I always say: Friends and family on this shoulder, the good Lord on this shoulder and I will make it. I will beat it. I will not let it take me down," he said.

With former Niwot High School custodian Andy Barela holding envelopes containing $6,000 raised by the Niwot High School community, his wife, Mary, and son Cody, 17, react to the kind gift.
(Joshua Buck/Times-Call)

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